Machine for attaching flanges to tubes.



No. 766,227. PATBNTED AUG. 2, 1904. W. W. DOOLITTLE.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING PLANGES T0 TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1903.

N0 MODEL. -5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 766,227. PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904. W. W. DOOLITTLE.

MACHINE POR ATTAGHING FLANGES T0 TUBES.

APPLIOATIQN FILED un. 22. 1903.

No MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

f y @g/@M PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

W. W. DOOLITTLE.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING FLANGBS TO TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

NO MODEL.

PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

W. W. DOOLITTLE.

MACHINE FOR ATTAGHING FLANGES TO TUBES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22. 1903.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4'.

N0 MODEL.

No. 766,227. PATBNTED AUG. 2, 1904. W. W. DOOLITTLE.

MACHINE FR A TTAGHING FLANGES T0 TUBES. APPLIOATIOH FILED JAN. 22, 1903.

No mmm., 5 SHEETS-SHEET s.

UNTTED STATES Patented August 2, 1904.

PATENT Finca.

WILLIAM IV. DOOLITTLIC, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, r SSIGNOR lO CRANECOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORJ'YIION OF ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR ATTACHING FLANGES TO TUBES.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 766,227, dated August 2,1904.

Application led January 22, 1903. Serial No. 140,154. (No model.)

To all wha/1t it may con/cern.-

Be it known that IVILLIAM IV. I.)ooLrrTm 1, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing' at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Machine forAttaching Flang'es to rllubes, of which the following' is aspecification.

My invention relates generally to the metal bending' and shaping' art,and in particular to that class of machines which are used for shapingmetal pipes and butt flanges to fit together and make a water-tightjoint. The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a machinewhich may operate to make a circumferential bead in such sheet metal asthat used in making pipe; second, to provide a machine for fixing'flanges on the ends of pipe or metal tubes; third, to provide a machinefor rolling down the metal of a pipe into a circumferential grooveprovided in the flange or head to be attached to the pipe; fourth, toprovide a machine for such purpose in which the thrust and resistancethereto in bending' the metal will be carried directly upon anindependent part of the machine, and not upon the working' bearing ofthe rotating part; fifth, to provide a rolling' device lwhich may followaround a tube and flange for the purpose of rolling the metal into agroove of the flange, and which is movable to accommodate irregularitiesin the circumferential form of said tube and flange; sixth, to provide aspecial circumferential rolling' device which is easily shifted in andout of position for the operation; seventh, to provide a flangeattaching machine in which the pressure necessary to bend the metal isinduced by air pressure operating' upon links and levers, and inducing'no bending' strain in the moving' parts of the machine; eighth, toprovide a machine for rolling' circumferential indentations which mayconveniently be inserted and withdrawn from position for the operation,gradually, by means of a screw; ninth, to provide a machine of the typespecified which has ready and easy adjustment in working distance fromthe center of rotation, and also easy and ready adjustment between thecompression parts of the machine; tenth, to provide a novel and usefulmechanical motion for the purpose of reciprocatingpressure rolls to andfrom cach 'other by fluid pressure. The invention is also intended toprovide convenient means for carrying' out a certain process ofattaching' flanges to tubes, as set forth in my co-pending applicationNo. 7-I,l99, which consists in a general way in indenting the metal ofthe tube into annular recesses in the flange in such a way that it willbe in perfect contact therewith, and then bending' the metal into asecond annular groove in order that there may be induced a bending'strain in the part of the metal which lies over the ridg'e between thetwo grooves.

The above objects, as well as other advantages which will hereinafterappear, I attain by means of the construct-ion and assembling of partsas illustrated in preferred form'in the accompanying drawings,wherein,-w

Figure l is aside elevation of the whole machine. v

Figure 2 is a plan view of the whole machine.

Figures 3 and 4f represent a central vertical Section through the wholemachine, taken along the line 3, el, in Figure 2, each of Figures 3 andet being' a part of said section.

Figure 5 is a central vertical section through the split nut shown onthe horizontal screw in Figure 3, taken on line 5 in Figure 6.

Figure 6 is a section of the same, taken along' the line marked 6 inFigure 3.

Figure 7 is a front elevation of the pressure jaws and the revolving'head.

Figure S is a vertical section of the same, taken on line S shown onFigure 9.

Figure 9 is a horizontal section through said head, taken on line f) inFigure 8.

Various attempts have been made to attach flanges of solid metal tosheet-metal tubes without the use of packing' to make a water-tightjoint, but so far as I am aware, none of them have succeeded, because itwas impossible to attain a close contact between the metal of the tubeand the flange. In my co-pending application, No. TAMS), I have setforth a process of manipulating the metal by which acertain condition ofstrain is induced which keeps a permanent contact between the metal ofthe tube and the metal of the flange; and itis for the carrying' out ofthis process, in the main, that 1 have invented the apparatus herein setforth. p

The pipe being clamped into place and the flange being' loosely placedupon the end, the first problem is to provide that the roller whichindents the metal into the circumferential grooves provided on theinterior of the flange shall induce constant and equal pressure at allpointsof the circumference of the flange, and not be dependent upon theposition of a revolving head. I have provided a machine, therefore, inwhich there is a rolling abutment which follows around the outside ofthe flange, and operating on the inside of the metal tube to indent itinto the circumferential groove of the flange, I provide a roller whichis held under pressure against the metal by a resilient or yieldingforce, and at the same time, the traveling of the outside abutmentroller and the inside compression roller around the tube and flange, ismade to follow exactly the contour of the tube and flange, and isindependent of the circular motion of the revolving head which providesthe necessary thrust for the progress of the rolls around the flange. Atthe same time 1 have provided means by which in the said progress aroundthe circumference, while the rolls may yield together somewhat to theirregularities therein, yet the pressure upon the rollers remains alwaysthe same and the changing of position of the abutment roller does notalter the amount of pressure, nor give any wrench or bending strain tothe machine in any other part.

By reference, first, to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that I haveprovided a supporting frame 10, upon which at one end is erected anupright 11, forming a support for the pipe to be operated upon. 1t isprovided with a removable or hinged top jaw 12, which has means forclamping down upon the pipe 14, placed therein, such as the screw 13.The interior of thisclamping head is provided with a ring having aprojecting flange 16, which is designed yto abut against the flange l5being placed upon the tube 14, to receive the longitudinal thrust, aswill be evident from Figure 4.

The frame also has two other uprights 19, 21, in which is mounted arevolving cylinder 30, held in place upon its supports by means ofclamping jaws, 2O and 22 respectively. The cylinder 3() is mountedpractically in line with the aXis of the pipe to be operated on. It isprovided with a large gear wheel 29, fixed thereon, which is driven froma driving' pulley 24, mounted on a shaft in the extension 23, providedwith a gear pinion 25, which by means of the gear 26, and the sheaf 27upon the shaft 28, drives the aforesaid large gear-wheel 29, and therebyrotates the cylinder 30. The cylinder 30 is closed by a cap 54 at itsend, (see Figure 3), and inside is provided with a plunger 33, whichoperates to thrust upon a rod 34, for a purpose hereinafter described.The plunger 33 is normally kept in place at the back end of the cylinderby means of the spiral springs upon the rods 32, which are guided inholes in the lugs 31, inside of the cylinder.

The near end of the cylinder 30 is provided with a compression headwhich is designated as a whole by the figure 38. By referenceparticularly to Figures 4, 7, 8 and 9, it will be seen that this head 38is provided with a block 39, movable in a slot, and carrying an armhaving a roller 49 therein, while below, inside this block, is anothersliding block 40, which has on an extension 50 a roller 51, bearing aridge 5l, for the purpose of compressing the metal of the pipe into thegrooves 17 and 18, (see Figure 4). These two sliding jaws,` 39 and 40,carrying the rollers, are radially movable to and from each other intheir radial slots in the head 38, and they are adjusted as to theirrelative position by means of the screw 52, in the pivot head 48, at thetop of the head l38 and inside head 39, raising and lowering the block40 relatively to block 39. This head 48 is pivoted to a link 36, whichby the pin is also pivoted to another, shorter, link 37, which isconnected by the pivot 37 u', to the head 40, carrying the lower roller.The motion to and from each other of the head and the heads 48 and 39,is induced through these toggle links by the thrust of the rod 34 in thecylinder 30, as will be hereafter described. The block 40, which carriesalso the head 39, bearing the upper roller, lies vertically in the slotin the head 38, as will be observed from Figure 9, and from Figure 7 itwill be seen that this sliding frame or head 40 is provided with a lug46, in which works a screw 45, sliding loosely in lugs 47, 47 1,attached to the actuating head 38, and bearing against these lugs aredouble springs 44, held in both direc tions on screw rod 45, by means ofthe block 43, fixed on this screw rod 45. rfhe screw may therefore slideeasily through the lugs 47, and the relative position of the lug 46 willbe determined by a position of said screw in the lug 46, while at the.same time it is possible for the lugs 46, and therefore the heads 39and 40, to slide in the slot to and from the center of motion of thehead. This is for the purpose of enabling the two rollers 49 and 51 toadvance and recede toward the center of rotation of the head during theprocess of rolling down the groove in the pipe, in order thatirregularities in the periphery of the pipe and flange may not strainthe machine, and in order that the pressure upon the two rollers may bealways the same and not varied byv reason of lack of true circular formof the surfaces into which the metal of the pipe is being rolled. Itwill be evident from Figure IOO IIO

IZO

l. that since the two links, 36 and 37, are of unequal length, thedistance apart of' the tw'o pivoted ends and their respective heads 39and fl) will depend upon the position of the block 16 in the head39,fthat is to say, the position of the screw 52 in the head 39 willdetermine the relative'positions of the two rollers, and therefore theamount of space between the outside periphery of the flange and theinside of the circumferential g'roove 17 into which the roller 51 isforcing the metal of the pipe 1%. 1n the meanwhile the position of thetwo rollers together is varied radially to the axis of the pipe by meansof the screw 5, in order that pipe of different sizes may he operatedupon by the machine.

The cylinder 3l) is movable longitudinally through its bearings in thebrackets 19, 21, in order to bring the jaws carrying the rollers #19,51, into proper position to roll the metal info the grooves 17, 18. ,Inordinary operation, for the purpose of shifting the cylinder Si) to andfro, l have provided an extension 1U of the frame 10, and an uprightbracket 69, in which is mounted a screw shaft 67,which is turned bymeans of a gear 70, and the cooperating' gears 71 and 72, which areoperated bythe shaft 73, mounted at its other end in the bracket 75, onthe frame 2l, provided with a hand wheel 71. Upon the end of thecylinder 3l) is a cap 5l, which rotates in a horizontally extended head59, having' arms 59, and on this head 59 are pivofed two lever arms 60,which are provided at their ends with a split nut, (62, 63). The partsof this nut 62h63 are capable of being' separated, in their supporting'links 6l, by means of the crank arm 65, turning the eccentric cam 66,

Awhich changes the position of the blocks 62 and 63. The arm 65 isoperated by means of the rod 65, the arm S6 and the rod 87, which isconnected to lever 86, having' a handle 69, so that when the handle 69is moved the jaws or block (S2-63 of' the split nut are opened orclosed. ln order to insure the threads of the nut entirely disengagingfrom the screw 67, each of the arms 6l) is provided at its backend witha spur, or stop, which prevents its motion further than a certaindistance, whereupon the thrust of the cam 66 fakes effect upon theotherside and lifts both the nuts off the thread. Vlhis arrangement isfor the purpose of moving the cylinder gradually, for adjustment, and insome cases, where it is necessary, to cause the rollers 51 and 49 toprogress spirally, as where a spiral groove is provided on the inside ofthe flange. But for the purpose of shifting the cylinder 30 rapidly oreasily when it is disengaged, I have provided the arms of the cross-head59 with two slots, in which are heads with rollers 77, on levers 76having' arms 6l), which are pivoted upon the bracket 80, and areconnected by a rod 61, with a bell crank lever 63, pivoted at S2, andprovided with a handle Sl, so that when the handle 6l is raised, thelever 8l) will operate to push the cylinder inward toward the pipe.

The pressure upon the rollers 49 and 51, for the purpose of pressing themetal into the annular grooves 17 and 18, is provided by means of thelongitudinally shifting rod 34e inside the cylinder 30. This rod 34 isattached to the plunger 33, and is operated by means of fluid pressure,preferably compressed air, which is introduced through the port 56 inscrew plug' 57, which holds the end of the pipe 58 supplying the same.It will be understood that there is provided a two-way cock for `thepurpose of admitting' and exhausting' compressed air into the pipe Itsconstruction being ordinary and well known, it is unnecessary toillustrate it. The head 59 is fitted upon the projection of the head 5iof the cylinder, as will be clear from Figure 3. The screw plug' 57 ismounted upon the end of the pipe 58, and the latter has a flange at itsend, in order that the cylinder head 5% carrying the plug' 57, may turnupon the pipe in its motion, it being' understood that the crosshead 59itself does not revolve.

Ordinarily the thrust of the screw 67 against the split head 62, 63,takes effect through bars directly upon the head of the cylinder 30, andin order to oppose this thrust more securely, 1 provide the tie-bars 73,which connect the upright bracket 69 with the main upright 19.

r1`he construction and assembling' of the parts being as abovedescribed, the operation of the machine is as follows:

A pipe 14 is placed in the jaws of the support 11, 12, as shown inFigure l, and a loose flang'e for the pipe, 15, is placed upon the sameand butted against the flange 16 inside the head. The flange 15 ispreviously provided with internal circumferential grooves, such as thetwo shown in Figures as 17, 18, the latter of which is but a quarterround and is placed directly upon the edge of the flange for a purposewhich will be hereinafterspccilied. r1`he pipe and flange being'stationary in position, the cylinder 30, with its revolving head 38, isbrought into proper position to bring the ridge 5lll on the roller 51directly opposite the first of these g'rooves, 17, the jaws being' soadjusted as to bring them into the position shown in Figure 4, by meansof the screw 45, which is held in its normal position by means of thesprings s thereon. The roller 49 is brought upon the outward peripheryof the flange 15, and in order that the distance between the interiorgrooves and the outer roll may be at a constant distance apart, it ispreferable to turn both the grooves and the base of the flange and theoutside periphery thereof for opposing the roller 49. The

cylinder 30 being' then in proper place, pres- TOO sure is brought uponthe two rollers 49, 51, by means of the plunger 33 and rod 34, which arepushed forward by the air pressure, and operate upon the links 36, 37,to draw the two heads 39, 40, together and force the rollers 49 and 51against the flange and pipe. The machine then being started, thecylinder 3() and head 38 revolve slowly around the pipe, and the metalof the pipe is pressed tightly into the groove 17 of the flange. The airbeing then exhausted from behind the plunger in the cylinder 30, therollers 49, 51, are relieved from their hold, when the cylinder 30 iswithdrawn till the ridge 51a is brought directly under thecircumferential groove 18 at the outer edge of the flange 15. Thepressure then being brought again upon the two rollers and the machinestarted, the cylinder 30 is thrust forward to keep close contact ofroller 51 and ridge 51, by means of the split nut 62-63 being operatedby the hand-wheel 74, as heretofore described. (Of course, other meansmay be provided for taking up the longitudinal thrust of the ridge 51aon the side of the circumferential groove 18.) The machine then beingrevolved as before, the metal is pressed both outward and longitudinallyinto the groove 18, in the manner of common upsetting operation.-

The metal of the pipe 14 being thoroughly and firmly pressed into thegroove 17 at the completion of the first operation, it will be evidentthat as the metal is rolled into the groove 18, there will be induced inthe metal of the pipe where it passes over the ridge between the .twogrooves in the flange, a bending strain which will, by its ownelasticity, keep a close contact between the flange and the metal of thepipe on said ridge. This renders the pipe perfectly water-tight withoutthe necessity of any packing, as set forth in my process applicationabove referred to. It will be understood that various modifications inthe details of construction of the machine come within the scope of theinvention, as where it may be convenient to hold the head 38 stationaryand turn the pipe in its supports, instead of turning said head, usingthe link and pivoted rod means of compressing the two rollers 49, 51, asbefore. Other obvious modifications will occur to the mechanic. y

But, having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what Iclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. In a flange attaching machine the combination with means for holdinga pipe and flange in place, of a revolving head, shiftablelongitudinally and provided with interior and exterior jaws carryingrollers to operate upon the said pipe and flange.

2. In a flange attaching machine the combination with means for holdinga pipe, of a revolving hollow cylinder provided with a head havinginside and outside compression jaws for compressing metal into groovesof a pipe and means within said cylinder for moving both said jawsradially to the cylinder.

3. In a flange attaching machine the combination of a revolving cylinderprovided with a head which has two jaws provided with rollers, saidrollers beingmoved to and from each other by means of toggle linksplaced within said head.

4. The combination of means for holding a pipe, a revolving cylinderhaving jaws for pinching said pipe placed inside and outside of saidpipe, said jaws being operated by means of a link reciprocated insidethe cylinder by fluid pressure.

5. A flange attaching machine provided with a revolving head carryinginterior and exterior rollers, said rollers being reciprocated to andfrom each other by means of eccentric toggle links operated by thethrust of a fluid pressure piston.

6. In a flange attaching machine the combination with means for holdinga pipe and flange in place, of a revolving head having rollersadjustable to and from each other and means whereby said rollers aredriven circumferentially around said pipe and allowed to adjustthemselves automatically to and from the center of rotation of saidhead.

7. In a flange attaching machine the combination of a revolving headhaving two opposed rollers on movable jaws therein, with means forinducing a thrust of said jaws against each other, and both jaws beingmovable together to andfrom the axis of rotation of said head.

8. In a flange attaching machine the combination of a revolving headmounted upon a cylinder and having movable jaws carrying opposed rollersthereon, of fluid pressure means for operating said jaws and means forshifting said cylinder, carrying the jaws to and from their workingposition.

9. The combination with a revolving cylinder having pressure jawsthereon of a fluid pressure driven piston in said cylinder and meanswhereby the motion of said piston operates the said jaws, and ascrew-operated mechanism for longitudinally altering the position ofsaid cylinder.

10. In a flange attaching machine the combi- `nation with a revolvingcylinder having operating roller jaws, of a screw and a pair of armsattached to said cylinder and provided with a split nut co-operatingwith said screw, and means whereby said split nut may be opened orclosed by a single motion of its operating lever. y

11. In a flange attaching machine the combination with means for holdinga pipe and a revolving head provided with two compression rolls foroperating upon said pipe, of a pair of links of unequal length pivotedtogether at one end and their opposite ends attached re- IOO IIO

4to and fro by means of' links operated by a tln'ust bar within saidcylinder.

13. In a flange attaching' machine a revolving head provided with aradial slot therein, a sliding' frame in said slot and two blocks insaid frame adjustable in position to and from each other. said sliding'frame being provided with a lug and an adjusting screw yieldingly heldin normal position by springs on said screw.

1%. Ina flange attaching' machine the combination with a revolving'cylinder having' a slotted head, ofl two blocks carrying rollers mountedin the head, each being connected with a toggle link, said links beingof' unequal length and attached together upon a rod within said cylinderand operated by fluid pressure means to reciprocate said sliding blocksto and from each other.

15. In a flange attaching machine the combination with a revolving'andi'eciprocable cylinder of' a head thereon provided with sliding' jawscarrying' rollers, said sliding jaws being movable radially to the saidcylinder and being' yieldingly held by a fluid pressure at a specifieddistance apart by means of mechanism in said cylinder.

16. In a flange attaehingmachine the combination with a revolving andreciproeable cylinder of' a head thereon provided with reciproeating'jaws carrying'rollers and yielding' means within said cylinder forinducing' pressure between said rollers, both said rollers being'mounted in a frame which may yield radially to the said cylinder.

1T. VI n a flang'e attaching machine the combination with a reciprocableand revolving head carrying' an abutment roller for radially eng'ag'ing'the outside of' the flange, of a movable roller adapted to en ter insidethe pipe and carrying thereon a circumferential ridge to roll the metalinto circumferential grooves in said flange, and means for balancing thepressure of the inside and outside rollers against each other.

18. In a flange attaching machine, in combination with a reciprocableand revolving head, two blocks mounted for radial motion within saidrevolving head, a long' link attached to one of' said blocks and a shortlink attached to the other of' said blocks, said two links being jointedtogether at their other ends and operated by a pivoted thrust link toreciprocate said blocks to and from each other.

19. The combination in a flange attaching machine of' a revolving' head,a pair of' blocks mounted to slide radially in said head and yieldingmeans f'or supporting' said blocks in normal position and yielding meansfor reciprocating them to and from each other to induce a compressiontherebetween.

20. In a flange attaching machine a shifting revoluble Cylinder toopei'ate pressure rolls, a screw extending in line with said cylinder,normally independent of the cylinder, means vfor turning' the screw, andconnections on the cylinder to engag'e the screw to thrust the cvlinder.

21. As means f'or operating the pressure jaws of a revolving reamerdevice, a pivoted thrust link, two unequal toggle links togetherconnected to said thrust link and having' their other ends respectivelyconnected with said jaws, and means f'or operating the thrust link, allsaid mechanism being' revoluble together.

2'2. The combination in a flange attaching' machine of two sliding jaws,each having' pivoted thereto a toggle link, anda pivoted thrust linkattached to the other ends of' both tog'g'le links having' operatingmeans for thrusting the same.

In testimony whereof' I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of'the subscribed witnesses.

1V ILLIAM lV. DOOL'IT'ILE. lvitiiesses:

PAUL SYNNnsTvnDT, PAUL CARPENTER.

